Degree in Food and Agriculture Engineering and the Rural Environment

240 credits - Higher Polytechnic School

Title
Official
Implementation year of this curriculum version
2010-11

The Degree in Food and Agriculture Engineering and the Rural Environment leads to certification to work as a Technical Agricultural Engineer. The degree is structured into two majors at the UIB: Horticulture and Landscaping (major 1) and Mechanisation and Rural Construction (major 2). 

The programme aims are set out in Order CIN/323/2009, of 9th February (BOE no. 43, of 19th February 2009, since this profession is regulated by law. These aims include knowledge of all the necessary basic and applied topics to work as a professional engineering, drafting food and agriculture, and gardening landscaping projects, supervising work on these projects and the ability to manage and run businesses in the sector.

The main skills and abilities that students must acquire, and in line with the aforementioned regulations, include: cross-cutting skills (English, analysis, synthesis, organisation and management), core skills (mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, geology, business), common skills to food and agriculture (animal and plant production technologies, topography, hydraulics, mechanisation) and specific skills for each major (horticultural production technology, crops, plagues and diseases, gardening and landscaping for major 1; construction, hydraulic and energy facilities, mechanisation and industrial automation for major 2.

 

Requirements to be awarded the degree

  • In order to be awarded the Degree in Food and Agriculture Engineering and the Rural Environment, students must accredit knowledge of English at B2 level. Students who cannot accredit this level must take and pass the elective subject 20395 English for Engineering or three subjects taught in English in the degree.  Students who do not meet this requirement will not be entitled to request their degree certificate, even where they have passed all other credits in the programme.
  • In order to be awarded the Degree in Food and Agriculture Engineering and the Rural Environment, students must take and pass all subjects in one of the two available majors: Horticulture and Landscaping or Mechanisation and Rural Constructions. Students who do not meet this requirement will not be entitled to request their degree certificate, even where they have passed the 240 credits of the programme.
  • Students who want to obtain a major must take 108 elective credits in the third and fourth years of the programme, 78 of which must be chosen from the specific elective subjects and 30 from the general elective subjects in the major. The list of third- and fourth-year general and specific elective subjects in each major is available in the following PDF files.

Credit Summary

Core Training Compulsory Elective External Work Placement Final Degree Project Total
  60   60   108*  **  12 240

* Elective subjects on the degree total 108 credits and comprise 30 elective credits from each major and 78 specific technology credits from each major (major 1: Horticulture and Landscaping; major 2: Mechanisation and Rural Constructions)

** The external work placement is included as an elective on a major

Subject list by year and semester

Subjects

Common Subjects to Both Specialisations

First Year

First Semester

Algebra
Mechanics
Business
Biology of Agrarian Production
Calculus

Second Semester

Chemistry
Foundations of Installations
Bases of Plant Production
Graphic Expression and Computer-aided Design
Physical Environment: Geology and Climatology

Second Year

First Semester

Bases of Agrarian Research
Edaphology
Agricultural Mechanisation
Food and Agriculture Business Management
Bases of Crop Protection

Second Semester

Agrarian Topography
Ecology Applied to Agriculture
Soil Fertility
Livestock Farms
Hydraulics and Irrigation

Subjects on the Horticulture and Landscaping Specialisation

Third Year

First Semester

Gardening and Landscaping Workshop I
Agriculture Resources Management
Elective 1
Elective 2
Elective 3

Second Semester

Plant Pathology
Agricultural Biotechnology
Gardening and Landscaping Workshop II
Technology of Protected Crops
Nursery Gardening

Fourth Year

First Semester

Projects and Agricultural Legislation
Herbaceous Crops and Fodder
Woody Crops
Horticultural Crops I
Garden Planting and Maintenance

Second Semester

Agricultural and Ornamental Plagues
Elective 4
Elective 5

Final Degree Project

Subjects on the Mechanisation and Rural Constructions Specialisation

Third Year

First Semester

Structures I
Installations I
Petrous Materials
Outdoor Construction
Elective 1

Second Semester

Indoor Construction
Structures II
Technology of Protected Crops
Elective 2
Elective 3

Fourth Year

First Semester

Installations II
Industrial Automation
Projects and Agricultural Legislation
Precision Agriculture
Livestock Farming Installations

Second Semester

Structures III
Elective 4
Elective 5

Final Degree Project

  Skills

General Skills

  1. The ability for prior preparation, designing, drafting and signing projects aimed at construction, renovation, repairs, conservation, demolition, manufacture, installation, assembly or operation of personal and real property which, due to its nature and characteristics, is used in agricultural and livestock production techniques (installations or buildings, farms, infrastructure and rural roads), the food and agriculture industry (extractive, fermentation, dairy, processing, horticulture, meat, fishing, salting and, generally any other industry dedicated to the production and/or transformation, processing, handling and distribution of food products), and gardening and landscaping (urban and/or rural green spaces - parks, gardens, nurseries, urban trees, etc., public or private sports facilities, and environments subject to landscape recovery)
  2. Adequate knowledge of the physical problems, technologies, machinery and supply systems of water and energy supply, the limits imposed by budgetary factors and construction regulations, the relationship between installations or buildings and farming operations, food and agriculture industries and spaces in terms of gardening and landscaping in their social and environmental setting, as well as the need to relate these settings to human requirements and preservation of the natural environment.
  3. The ability to supervise the carrying out of work subject to projects linked to the food and agriculture industries, farming operations, green spaces and buildings, infrastructures and installations, hazard prevention linked to this worksite, and managing multi-disciplinary teams and human resources in compliance with ethical guidelines.
  4. The ability to draft and sign off on measurements, delimitation, zoning, valuations and evaluations of the rural environment, the inherent techniques of the food and agriculture industry and spaces linked to gardening and landscaping, whether or not they are expert reports from judicial or administrative bodies, independently of the intended use of the personal or real property subject to the latter.
  5. The ability to draft and sign off on rural development, environmental impact and waste management reports for the food and agriculture industries, farming and livestock operations, and spaces linked to gardening and landscaping.
  6. The ability to supervise and manage all kinds of food and agriculture industries, farming and livestock operations, urban and/or rural green spaces, and public or private sporting areas, with knowledge of new technologies, quality processes, traceability and certification, and marketing and sales techniques for food products and cultivated plants.
  7. Knowledge of core, scientific and technology topics that enable continuous learning, as well as an ability to adapt to new situations or changing circumstances.
  8. The ability to problem-solve with creativity, initiative, methodology and critical reasoning.
  9. The ability for leadership, communication and transmission of knowledge, skills and abilities in social policy areas.
  10. The ability to research and use regulations and legislation relating to the relevant policy area.
  11. The ability to develop activities, taking on a social, ethical and environment commitment in line with the human and natural environment.
  12. The ability for multi-disciplinary and multicultural teamwork.

Cross-cutting Skills

  1. The cross-cutting skill in English is defined as per the directive from the UIB Executive Council: knowledge of English, the ability to understand, speak and write in English to an intermediate level.
  2. The ability for analysis and synthesis. An ability for critical reasoning.
  3. The ability to organise and plan.
  4. The ability to produce and present new ideas.
  5. The ability for oral and written communication of technical concepts to non-specialist audiences.

Specific Core Skills

  1. The ability to solve mathematical problems that may arise in engineering. The aptitude for applying knowledge on: linear algebra; geometry; differential geometry; differential and integral calculus; differential equations and partial derivatives; numerical methods; numerical algebra; statistics and optimisation.
  2. The ability for spatial vision and knowledge of graphic representation techniques, both by traditional metric and descriptive geometry, and by CAD applications.
  3. Core knowledge in the use and programming of computers, operating systems, databases and computer programs with engineering applications.
  4. Core knowledge on general chemistry, organic and inorganic chemistry, and their applications in engineering.
  5. Comprehension and mastery of core concepts relating to the general laws of thermodynamics, fields, waves and electromagnetism, and their application in solving engineering problems.
  6. Core knowledge of geology and land morphology, and their application to engineering problems. Climatology.
  7. Sufficient knowledge of business, and the institutional and legal framework of corporations.
  8. Knowledge of biological bases and fundaments in the areas of plants and animals in engineering.

Specific Skills in the Branch of Agriculture

  • The ability to discover, understand and use the principles of:
    1. Identifying and characterising plant species.
    2. C2: the bases of plant production, production, protection and operation systems.
    3. The bases of animal production. Livestock facilities.
    4. The applications of biotechnology in agricultural and livestock engineering.
    5. Ecology. Environmental impact analysis: assessment and correction.
    6. Topographic surveys and reframing. Cartography, photogrammetry, geographic information and remote detection systems in agronomy.
    7. Engineering the rural environment: calculating structures and constructions, hydraulics, engines and machines, automation, technical projects.
    8. Management and use of agro-industrial by-products.
    9. Taking decisions by using available resources for work in multi-disciplinary groups.
    10. Technology transfer, understanding, interpreting, communicating and adopting progress in the agricultural sphere.
    11. Assessing agricultural businesses and marketing.

Specific Technology Skills: Horticulture and Landscaping (major 1)

The ability to discover, understand and use the principles of:

  1. Horticultural production technology.
  2. The bases and technology for horticultural and ornamental propagation and production. Quality control of horticultural products. Marketing.
  3. Plant genetics and improvement.
  4. Engineering of green areas, sporting areas and horticultural operations.
  5. Electrification. Irrigation and drains. Machinery for horticulture.
  6. Civil engineering, installations and infrastructures for green area and protected spaces.
  7. Electrification. Irrigation and drains. Machinery for landscaping.
  8. Environmental and landscape engineering.
  9. Environmental legislation and management; the principles behind sustainable development; market and professional employment strategies; assessing environmental assets. Hydrology and erosion. The physical environment and climate change.
  10. Plant matter: production, use and maintenance.
  11. Ecosystems and biodiversity. Land analysis, management and planning. Landscaping principles. Specific tools for graphic design and expression; practical development of environmental impact studies; environmental and landscape restoration projects; green zone projects and maintenance plans; development projects; instruments for land and landscape planning; project and work management and planning.

Specific Technology Skills: Mechanisation and Rural Constructions (major 2)

The ability to discover, understand and use the principles of:

  1. Plant and animal production technologies.
  2. Agronomy, biotechnology and plant enhancement.
  3. Crop production and protection.
  4. Gardening and landscaping. Sports areas.
  5. Nutrition. Animal hygiene and production systems. Biotechnology and animal enhancement.
  6. Animal products.
  7. Bases and technology for rural constructions.
  8. Soil mechanics. Materials. Material resistance. Structure design and calculation.
  9. Agrarian constructions. Rural infrastructures and roads.
  10. Farming mechanisation.
  11. Engines and agricultural machinery. Machinery features and design for agricultural facilities. Agricultural automation.
  12. Engineering installations.
  13. Rural electrification. Irrigation and drainage technology. Hydraulic works and installations.
  14. Animal health and wellbeing facilities.

Specific Skills for the Final Degree Project

  1. An original, individual project to be presented and defended before a university panel, comprising a project in the field of specific technologies in professional Agricultural Engineering where the skills acquired on the degree programme are incorporated and synthesised.